As soon as Vinny Lecavalier saw teammate Marty St. Louis pick off the pass, Lecavalier was off to the races.

"The work on that, for me, is to beat the D," Lecavalier said.

That is because the Lightning center knew St. Louis' first instinct would be to pass to his fastbreaking teammate.

And that is just what happened in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Hurricanes as Lecavalier took the pass in stride and scored on a breakaway.

"I knew the puck would be there," Lecavalier said Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum. "We just know how each other plays."

Watching Lecavalier and St. Louis, two of Tampa Bay's most iconic figures, play on the same line the past few weeks has been quite a show. Not only because it hasn't happened consistently since the first half of the 2008-09 season, but because, as St. Louis said, "It really feels like we're back to where we once were. … This is the best we've played together since our good years together."

And that makes the pair a huge story as the Lightning and Penguins begin their playoff series Wednesday at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

"It's great to see Vinny and Marty getting that chemistry back," center Steven Stamkos said. "It's an exciting thing for our team and probably not for the team we're facing."

A couple of caveats: Coach Guy Boucher is not married to lines, and players on Monday spoke vaguely about several combinations discussed at an hourlong team meeting.

Boucher also isn't above floating information for the sake of gamesmanship. So, while he said he was keeping Lecavalier and St. Louis together, today's practice will provide more proof.

That said, the two have played so well it would be a surprise if they were separated.